Jazz Tried Trading Millsap on Draft Night

[Harcher]

If you can trade Millsap, a future bench player, for a starting sf, then you do it in a heartbeat.

Who is worth trading for him?

Here is the list of NBA.COM 50 'best' players (forwards) according to Efficiency. This isn't a list to debate whether Efficiency is a valid assessment, but it helped me quickly get a nice list of 50 forwards in a reasonably ordered list. The list of possiblities is small actually, and then with the shortlist, you have to see if that team has a need for him... (i.e. "hey we have two excellent small forwards and would like to get rid of one.")

PLAYER NAME, TEAM NAME GP MPG PTS EFF
LeBron James , MIA 79 38.8 26.7 28.6
Kevin Love , MIN 73 35.8 20.2 28.4
* Blake Griffin , LAC82 37.9 22.5 25.6
Pau Gasol , LAL 82 37.1 18.8 25.4
Kevin Durant , OKC78 38.9 27.7 24.9
Amar'e Stoudemire , NYK78 36.8 25.3 24.6
Zach Randolph , MEM75 36.2 20.1 24.4
Dirk Nowitzki , DAL73 34.3 23.0 23.5
LaMarcus Aldridge , POR81 39.7 21.8 23.1
Carmelo Anthony , NYK-DEN77 35.7 25.6 22.7
David Lee , GSW73 36.1 16.5 21.2
Kevin Garnett , BOS71 31.2 14.9 20.8
Paul Millsap , UTA76 34.3 17.3 20.6
Josh Smith , ATL77 34.4 16.5 20.5
Chris Bosh , MIA77 36.4 18.7 20.4
David West , NOH70 35.0 18.9 20.4
Carlos Boozer , CHI59 31.9 17.5 19.8
Paul Pierce , BOS80 34.7 18.9 19.8
Rudy Gay , MEM54 39.9 19.8 19.7
Luis Scola , HOU74 32.6 18.3 19.6
Lamar Odom , LAL82 32.1 14.4 19.6
Tim Duncan , SAS76 28.4 13.4 19.5
Elton Brand , PHI81 34.6 15.0 19.4
Andre Iguodala , PHI67 36.8 14.1 18.5
Gerald Wallace , POR-CHA71 38.0 15.7 18.5
Danny Granger , IND79 35.0 20.5 17.7
Andray Blatche , WAS64 34.0 16.8 17.6
Kris Humphries , NJN74 27.8 10.0 17.1
Luol Deng , CHI82 39.2 17.4 17.1
Dorell Wright , GSW82 38.4 16.4 16.6
Antawn Jamison , CLE56 32.9 18.0 16.4
Serge Ibaka , OKC82 27.0 9.9 15.6
Wilson Chandler , DEN-NYK72 33.3 15.3 15.4
Michael Beasley , MIN73 32.4 19.2 15.4
Danilo Gallinari , DEN-NYK62 34.0 15.6 15.2
Shawn Marion , DAL80 28.2 12.5 15.1
Andrei Kirilenko , UTA64 31.2 11.7 14.9
Channing Frye , PHX77 33.0 12.7 14.9
Amir Johnson , TOR72 25.7 9.6 14.6
Boris Diaw , CHA82 33.9 11.3 14.6
Thaddeus Young , PHI82 26.0 12.7 13.9
Reggie Evans , TOR30 26.5 4.4 13.7
Grant Hill , PHX80 30.1 13.2 13.6
Hedo Turkoglu , ORL-PHX81 31.2 10.8 13.6
Tayshaun Prince , DET78 32.8 14.1 13.5
Kenyon Martin , DEN48 25.7 8.6 13.2
Nicolas Batum , POR80 31.6 12.4 13.0
* Ed Davis , TOR65 24.6 7.7 13.0
Jeff Green , BOS-OKC75 32.4 13.3 12.8
Drew Gooden , MIL35 24.6 11.3 12.8

 

[green]

From your list, I would trade him for...Hmmm...Gay, Granger, Chandler...man, the SF position sucks right now. That's the problem. Millsap is a very good player. He is just a very good bench player. If you can get a starter for him, you do it, because your starter will play more minutes and have a greater opportunity to help the team.

I am not only for trading Millsap. If you call on Chandler and Denver says they want Jefferson instead, I get a pick from them and do it. Either one is expendable. Also, I don't know if I pull the trigger on a trade yet. Wait until the trade deadline, and hopefully Kanter or Favors has proven by then they are ready to take over, unless you get an offer that blows your socks off.

 

[Harcher]

From your list, I would trade him for...Hmmm...Gay, Granger, Chandler...man, the SF position sucks right now. That's the problem. Millsap is a very good player. He is just a very good bench player. If you can get a starter for him, you do it, because your starter will play more minutes and have a greater opportunity to help the team.

I am not only for trading Millsap. If you call on Chandler and Denver says they want Jefferson instead, I get a pick from them and do it. Either one is expendable. Also, I don't know if I pull the trigger on a trade yet. Wait until the trade deadline, and hopefully Kanter or Favors has proven by then they are ready to take over, unless you get an offer that blows your socks off.

I think for this reason you can see the legit trade theories is about 2. And with that you need the other teams' situation to warrant a trade of a SF. And then, adding in the fact that there appears to be a SF drought, means it Milsap is more valuable as a keeper than traded.

Also, if there is so few good SF's around, then what is the requirement to have an SF on your team? Have we evolved to the point where there is PF, SG, PG (or in Jazz vernacular, Post, Wing, PG?) Also with this thinking, who is such a threat at SF that Milsap would get "killed" as he plays the SF?

It's just not clear to me at thispoint.

EDIT - my apolgies to Millsap for spelling his name wrong...